Always Got Your Back
by PharaohsThrone
Summary: Atem Sennen and Yusei Fudo both joined the military for one reason: to help rid the world of the titan threat. However, Atem's nasty attitude has him alone, as he prefers. But Yusei isn't going to let him get through this tough training alone, and he's pretty sure he knows why Atem is the way he is. It's just a matter of getting through to him. Synchroshipping.
1. Chapter 1 - Maria Falls

**_A/N: Okay so this story was originally just a one shot that I wrote a few weeks ago, but the plot bunnies kind of just INVADED MY BRAIN and wouldn't stop, so I turned it into a chapter story. A few of the details have been changed, but the overall story is basically still intact. If you did happen to read the one shot, there will be a few scenes the same, but a lot of it is all new, so I hope you guys enjoy Shingeki no Synchroshipping! (that was a bad pun, I know). And also, the first chapter of this is about as harsh as the first episode of SNK (as you should be able to tell from the title) but hey, it's freaking SNK, its expected. Anyway, enough babbling, enjoy!_**

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**Chapter 1: Maria Falls**

It was a hot and humid afternoon, the sun was still high in the sky and only small clouds were scattered about, giving little relief from the rays of heat. Atem sat at the edge of his town next to his friend Duke, idly chatting about how annoying their families were. It had been as normal as any other day, the boy had woken up to his little sister Anzu whining about something as usual, and after doing his morning chores of collecting wood and water, he had ducked away to go meet his friend. Duke was leaning back on his arms as he dangled his legs over the edge of a high brick wall, looking out over the country side.

"Wouldn't it be awesome to just get out and explore?" he was saying, "I mean, this is the highest point in our town, and I still can't even see the next village from here! I've never even seen past that forest," he pointed over in the distance, and Atem nodded.

"Sometimes I have this dream where I climb over the wall," Atem murmured, his eyes distant as he stared out in the same direction as his ebony haired friend.

Duke's eyes widened as he turned to stare at Atem, "Climb over the wall?! That has to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" He exclaimed. Atem turned to look at him, slightly surprised by his outburst. "For one, the only people to ever go outside the walls are the Recon Corps, which is incredibly stupid in itself, and two, the wall is fifty meters high, it's impossible."

"Relax, it's just a dream," Atem said, holding his arms up in defence, "I didn't say I wanted to do it. I'm just curious about the outside world is all."

Duke turned to glare out at the field, "Yeah, well curiosity killed my uncle," he spat. "Going out there is suicide, Atem." He then turned back to his friend, a very serious look in his eyes. "Tell me something," he said. "Are you interested in joining the military?"

Atem was a bit taken back by his sudden questioning, but looked to the side as he thought for a moment. "I don't know, maybe," he shrugged.

Duke narrowed his eyes, "Whatever you do, please, please, don't ever join the Recon Corps. The minute you go outside those walls, you won't come back, I can promise you that." Atem was surprised at how serious Duke was being, for usually he was known to be a light hearted joker all the time. Perhaps this was Duke's way of saying that he cared.

Atem cracked a smile, "Aw, you're just worried I'm going to make a rash decision one day, aren't you?"

Duke ducked his eyes down, "I'm just saying it's a stupid idea," he replied. He then lowered his voice, "And I don't want you to end up like my uncle."

Atem slung an arm over Duke's shoulder, "My, does Duke Devlin have a soft side?" he teased.

Duke tried to push him away, "Cut it out, I was just saying."

"You totally care!" Atem announced, poking his friend's side.

"Shut up! I do not!" Duke retorted, "sharing feelings is for girls," he made a gagging noise. He then stood up from where he was, "Where's a stump I can chop up, I don't feel manly enough." Atem just laughed, looking up at Duke who obviously felt uncomfortable. That was what he had always been like, never really showing how he really felt about anything. Deep down though, Atem knew he did care for his wellbeing, just like any other friend, it just didn't need to be said. Duke held out his hand to help Atem up, and the boy accepted it, allowing Duke to pull him to his feet.

It was then that Duke froze.

Atem stared at his friend in confusion, wondering why he had such an odd look on his face. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"...Don't you hear that?" Duke murmured, turning around to face the village. Atem listened in, and he started to hear something. A dull, pounding noise, growing louder and louder.

"Yeah, I hear it..." Atem replied, his eyebrows creasing in confusion. "But what...?" his sentence trailed off as they walked over to the path that lead into the village, and what they caught sight of made Atem's gut fall straight down to his feet.

Titans.

On the hill they were standing on, the two boys could clearly see the other side of their town, where scores of titans were trampling on houses and wreaking havoc.

And it was on the other side of town where Atem and Duke lived.

"Shit!" Duke exclaimed, fear coursing through him as he lurched forwards at a sprint. Atem stared wide eyed at the scene for a moment, before snapping back and calling out to his friend.

"Wait! Duke!" Atem could feel his heart thumping in his chest as he ran after his friend, instantly worried about his sister. Only being 8 years old, the little girl knew little about the titan threat, and Atem knew that she would be absolutely terrified right now. The two boys sprinted through their town, as what was once a dull pounding became so loud the ground was shaking. Screams were erupting around them as the towns people tried to escape, yet through all of the terror, Duke and Atem found themselves running towards the threat, against the current of people.

"Anzu!" Atem was calling out through the crowd, trying to find his family. They were on the main road of the town, so if they were running, he was sure to pass them. "Mum, Dad!" His eyes desperately searched through the hoards of people, but none of them resembled his family. Duke was also searching for his loved ones, but still neither of them could see who they were looking for.

Still desperately pushing through scores of people, Atem and Duke suddenly caught sight of a titan to their right, pulling someone out of a house just off of the main street. Atem was staring wide eyed as the girl screamed and thrashed around in its grip, as the titan opened its mouth. Duke instantly grabbed Atem's arm and tugged him to the side.

"Don't look!" He warned, "Just keep running, we'll find them," he promised. Breathing raggedly and heart pounding in his chest, Atem pushed forwards, his home now clear in sight. He sprinted up towards the old wooden house, and burst through the front door.

It was empty.

He stared at the space in front of him. Could they have already escaped? Wouldn't he have seen them? A million questions ran through his mind, when a panicked hand landed on his shoulder.

"Atem! We have to get out of here!" Duke shouted. A loud pounding on the ground alerted them to another titan close by, and just as Atem's brain told his legs to move, the wooden structure suddenly collapsed on top of him.

Having been standing in the doorway, Atem was crushed under the hard wood frame, only meters from the large foot that had crushed it. Duke had jumped back in fright, narrowly missing the falling debris. His immediate fear for his friend however, distracted him from the being who had crushed the house.

"Atem!" Duke called out in panic, reaching for his friend. Atem managed to push a beam of wood off of his back, but as soon as he tried to pull himself out, he felt two rusty nails digging into the back of his thigh, painfully ripping the skin open. He let out a wince as Duke grabbed his hand, trying to pull him out some more. Duke pulled on Atem's arm, and managed to move him forwards, but a few of the beams of wood that were on top of his legs moved forwards also, and Atem let out a pained cry.

"My leg," he winced, biting his bottom lip, "Something's digging into my leg." He could feel blood tricking down the back of his thigh, as it burned with pain, and the pounding noise seemed to move around them. Atem's face turned pale when he saw a face loom up in front of them.

"Duke! Behind you!" He shouted, and Duke let go of his hand for a second, to see the titan reaching down for him. Duke was as pale as the walls, as he panicked and grabbed onto Atem's arm again. "No you idiot, get out of here!" Atem yelled at him.

"I'm not leaving you!" Duke yelled back, sweat beading on his forehead as he tried to push off the wood that was on top of Atem. The other boy screamed at his friend to leave, but Duke didn't listen, and Atem could only watch as the large hand moved down to grab at the ebony haired boy. Atem yelled out in protest, grabbing onto Duke's arm in an attempt to keep him on the ground, as deceitful tears stung his eyes. Duke looked surprised at Atem's sudden constriction of his arm, until the titan's fingers wrapped around his torso. Duke turned and looked up at the monster that had hold of him, and Atem knew he had never heard a more terrified scream in his entire life. As Duke was pulled from Atem's grasp, screaming and thrashing around, Atem felt a cold wave of adrenaline overcome him, fueled by dread.

"Duke!" he called out desperately, grabbing onto a wooden pole that was still in tact, and pulling himself forwards. The rusty nails embedded in his thigh ripped down his leg, and he winced in pain as he felt dampness on his cheek, but still determined to pull himself out. Biting his lip so hard that he could taste blood, Atem pulled himself forwards once more, crying out in agony as the nails ripped apart the back of his leg. Finally, he was out from under the wood, bar the one that was digging into him, and he collapsed onto his stomach, breathing raggedly as he reached a shaking hand behind him to pull the wood off of him, wincing as the nails tore from his flesh. Tears were now flowing freely from the young boy's eyes as he finally pulled himself to his knees and looked back up at the titan in front of him, just as its teeth chomped down on his best friend.

"No!" Atem cried out. He stared up in horror as Duke's blood ran down the titan's jaw, and no matter how much Atem wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to move. The back of his thigh was pulsing in agony, his head pounding as fast as his heart, and he felt like his chest was constricted so much he couldn't breathe.

Atem was vaguely aware of the sound of someone calling out in the distance, and his eyes focused on a soldier from the Garrison, apparently calling out to everyone to evacuate. Atem didn't feel like he was in his own body anymore, he felt like he was just watching himself sit there on his knees, staring at nothing. He saw himself let out a bitter laugh. _Too late, idiot._

He seemed to snap back to reality when a different soldier ran up to him, apparently having noticed him kneeling on the ground.

"Come on kid, you heard the man, let's go!" he shouted, grabbing Atem under his arm and pulling him up. The titan was now reaching down to grab hold of the boy after finishing his friend, but the soldier, now carrying Atem under his arm, lurched up into the air with his maneuver gear, narrowly dodging the titan's grasp. Atem was aware of wind flowing past him, as he stared blankly, aware that tears were still running off of his chin. A feeling of nausea had built up in his stomach in the last minute, and the rapid movements the soldier was making as he dodged titans, swinging through the town, wasn't helping. It was a rough ride for the shell shocked boy, and if he hadn't have just witnessed his best friend get chomped to pieces by a titan, he may have actually enjoyed the ride.

Finally the soldier landed back on the ground, where all the towns people were evacuating, trying to get a spot on the ships heading inwards to wall Rose. When the soldier let him go, Atem was too exhausted and shell shocked to stand up, and he fell down to his knees once more, wincing at the pain in the back of his thigh. He could feel his nausea swelling around in his gut, and his eyes suddenly flew wide as he expelled the contents of his stomach onto the ground. The people standing around him jumped back, cursing at him and voicing their disgust, but he barely heard them through the sound of his heart pounding in his head.

He had barely realised that the soldier was still standing next to him. Atem lifted his head up, and was surprised when he saw that the tall man was wearing a green cloak. The wings of freedom were flowing in the wind, and Atem found himself staring up at the man in awe. The recon corps were back already?! And a small group of them were helping the town evacuate, he realised, looking around at the other soldiers wearing green cloaks. Atem looked up at his savior once more. He was very tall, sporting dark brown hair and hard blue eyes that could slice a man in half.

"Who-who are you?" Atem choked out.

The man turned and looked down at the boy, sitting on his hands and knees, blood spilling down the back of his leg, and a pool of vomit in front of him. "Seto," he answered. "I'm Captain Seto Kaiba."

...

Yusei sat and stared around at the scores of people flooding the courtyard. He was trying not to watch them all, but he could barely look away. Everyone had the same look of dread on their faces, so empty and lifeless. He guessed that was what to expect when you're forced to flee your home at a minute's notice. All of these people now had nowhere else to go, including himself and his family. All because wall Maria had fallen, and titans had invaded the villages on the south. Luckily for Yusei, his family had lived in a village quite close to wall Rose, and so they had gotten the message to evacuate much before the titans would have reached them. Yusei was now huddled with his family as he watched more refugees flood in from the various ships all arriving from the south. And with each ship that arrived, the people looked more and more shell shocked. It was the one that had just arrived though, that made his stomach churn. The first people to step off looked like they had just taken a trip down to hell and back. Their faces were twisted with dread and horror, and Yusei could only imagine what sort of terrible things hid behind those drooped eyelids. He bit his lip and tried to turn away from the people, but all he could hear were their strained sobs amidst a painful silence. He numbly nodded to his father who was asking if he were alright, before he took one last look over at the people flooding from the ship.

His eyes caught sight of a boy. Around his age he assumed, with wild tri coloured hair that was in a mess, and intriguing crimson eyes. The boy looked like he had seen both a ghost and an angel at the same time. His vacant eyes told of pain and loss, whereas he had an almost hopeful air to him. Something he saw must have terrified him, while maybe something else had happened to level it out almost. Perhaps the boy had narrowly escaped a grim fate and was grateful for it. Yusei wasn't sure, but he couldn't help but stare as the boy limped through the crowd, carefully holding his leg as he appeared to be looking for someone. Yusei then noticed the blood running down the back of his thigh, half dry and half fresh, and he assumed that this must have been the villagers from close to wall Maria, who were unable to escape before they were invaded by the titans. That would explain the distraught expressions on all of their faces, and Yusei could feel nausea swirling around in his stomach.

The boy continued to limp around, as he called out for his parents and a girl named Anzu, but the people ignored him, and nobody answered his calls. He must have been split from his family somehow, Yusei thought with sympathy. Finally, a lady recognised the boy, and Yusei sighed happily when the woman ran up to the boy, embracing him tightly. He could just barely make out the words she was saying.

"Oh, Atem! Thank god you're okay!" she said, pulling back from the boy. "Oh dear, what on earth happened to you?" she had noticed his injury, and instantly set to work on ripping off part of her skirt to use as a bandage for him. Atem only stared numbly at her as she did so, and Yusei was confused that he didn't look as happy as he should have if he had found his mother. The woman stared to carefully wrap the bandage around his leg, as he stared down at her, biting his lip and wincing every few seconds.

Finally, he spoke up. "Fiona, where are my parents?" he asked suddenly. "And Anzu?"

The woman froze. A moment passed, and Atem's eyes slowly grew wide with realisation. Fiona then slowly continued to wrap the bandage around his leg, and Yusei was straining to hear any more. The crowds of people had become too loud to make out what she started to say, but the horrified look of dread on Atem's face certainly plucked at Yusei's heartstrings. Still, with all of the chatter and commotion going on around him, Yusei could only stare over at the boy, who had shamelessly started to cry, his mouth hanging open in disbelief as the woman pulled him into her arms, patting his head soothingly. He had then pulled away from her, screaming that he didn't need her sympathy, and stormed off into the crowd, out of sight.

"Yusei!" his mother suddenly caught his attention after calling his name numerous times. "We should leave this area, I don't want you seeing this." She tugged on his arm and he stood up slowly, looking over his shoulder at the woman who was still standing where she was before, silent tears running down her cheeks. That's when he stopped walking, turning back to face forwards. His mother looked back at him in confusion, wondering why he had stopped. "Yusei, what's the matter?" she asked.

He looked up at her, a new purpose shining in his eyes. "I want to apply for Military training," he said.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, "But why? Why now? You said you were fine going off to work instead of joining the military," she said, obviously not fond of the idea.

Yusei took one glance over his shoulder, before continuing, "I don't want to always be helpless, mother. I want to be able to help all these people, and maybe if I was part of the military, I could do something worth while. I want to be a hero."

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Aaaaand there's chapter one! This sort of just sets up the plot and explains the reasons for everything later on in the story. Seriously though, I am sooo pumped for writing this story! As I said before, I TRIED to keep it a one shot, but I JUST COULDN'T. IT WOULDN'T LET ME LEAVE IT LIKE THAT. So yeah, if you're a tumblr user by the way I have posted a few spoilers for later chapters in the synchroshipping tag, if you're interested, but if you get confused you'll just have to wait xD

Anyway, hope you guys love this story as much as I love writing it, because SYNCHRO BBYS KILLING TITANS YES. (I'm so not sorry).

Let me know what you think!

PharaohsThrone :)


	2. Chapter 2 - Temper

**Chapter 2: Temper**

Scores of cadets were lined up outside the training camp, as a tall, tanned man stepped forwards, his presence radiating authority. "You are all officially members of the training unit number 104. I am in charge here, and therefore if I am not in favor of your attitude or performance I can kick your asses out of here on the spot." He stared menacingly around at the group of teenagers. "You may refer to me as Commander Rishid only, and I am here to tear you apart from the useless livestock you are and build you up as men. This is no walk in the park, ladies. I guarantee you that after the three years, only a third of you will graduate with the honor of calling yourselves soldiers."

Atem stood tall and proud in the large group of people, as Commander Rishid began to fire questions in people's faces as he towered over them. Hw could see them all shitting their pants where they stood, but as the Commander grew closer and closet to him, he knew there was no need to be afraid of the figure head. There were much scarier things to be afraid of, and they were the reason he was here. He held a calm and reserved expression as the commander approached, but the man walked straight past him.

Yusei could feel the sweat beading on his forehead as Rishid walked up to him, towering over him with a glare hard enough to send his confidence packing. The commander then began the same routine on him as he had with many of the other soldiers, spitting questions at him furiously.

"I am Yusei Fudo," he replied instantly, his knuckles turning white as he saluted the Commander. "From a village just outside of wall Rose."

Rishid stood up straight again after having been leaning over Yusei, "A refugee huh? How did you like being the lowest kind of person in your community?" he asked in his booming voice.

Yusei swallowed through a tight throat as his arms began to grow stiff, "I didn't like it at all, sir," he replied.

"Well you better get used to it!" Rishid roared, "You are worse than livestock, boy!"

...

After the first day of training was over, all of the cadets in unit 104 were gathered in the eating hall, chatting amongst themselves as they ate. Atem was sitting away from the other cadets, not in favor of starting a conversation with anybody. Most of the people here had joined with their friends, and it was easy to see who they were. Atem huffed to himself, he had joined alone, and now he was sitting alone, just as he preferred. Nobody had persuaded him to join the military as so many people claimed to each other in this room. Atem had made the decision himself, after the devastation that swept over his town during the fall of wall Maria. He had barely escaped with his own life, while later discovering that his family had not been so lucky.

There were two solid reasons why Atem had decided to join the military. The main reason being he had seen the terror on the faces of the people when the titans invaded their town, and how useless they all were. If he were a soldier, he would not want anyone to experience the pain that he did on that day, and so his goal was to come out of training with the guts and experience to actually make a difference, no matter how minuscule that was. The other was because he still had a clear memory of looking up at the soldier who had saved his life, and after getting that second chance and not becoming titan food, he wanted to make it even. If he only ended up saving one life after all of this training, then at least he would be at peace.

He was brought back to reality when he realised someone was talking to him from the next table. "Hey, the commander didn't ask you where you're from," the brown haired girl said, making the group she was sitting with turn and look at him curiously.

One of the guys sitting next to her then spoke up, "Don't bother him, Mana. Anyone the commander didn't speak to are the ones who don't need to be 'broken down'. They probably went to hell and back two years ago."

Atem instinctively narrowed his eyes, before his expression softened as he stared at the girl who seemed to just have a look of innocent curiosity on her face. He sighed, looking back down at his food. "I'm from a small mountain village in the south of wall Maria," he muttered, hoping she would understand and leave him alone.

There was a small round of murmurs that went through the group, as a few people nodded to each other knowingly. The guy who had spoken before muttered, "Told ya."

The girl soon composed herself and decided not to tread in dangerous waters. "Well...I noticed today how you had some trouble getting used to the maneuver gear. I could give you some pointers if you want-"

"No," Atem retorted, still staring at his food. "I'm quite capable of learning things myself, so get the hint and leave me alone." After hearing his harsh tone, Mana slinked back and turned around again, looking down at her food silently.

The guy next to her then glared over at Atem, "Well you didn't need to be a dick about it," he spat, casting a concerned glance at the girl next to him.

Atem had been mid way in bringing more bread to his mouth, and he dropped his arm back onto the table with a harsh thud. "Well some people are too thick headed to know when to put a sock in it."

The brown haired guy instantly stood up, challenging Atem with his stance, "Who put a stick up your ass?" he spat, raising his voice and catching the attention of neighboring tables.

Mana grabbed the guy's arm, "Mahaad, wait." The teen only ignored her as he glared over at the spiky haired male.

Atem met his challenge, rising to his feet also as he glared over at Mahaad. "Can't you mind your own fucking business?"

Yusei had been sitting at one of the neighboring tables, and had looked up in confusion when hearing the commotion. He saw the two teens eyeing each other off with death glares, and decided now was probably the time to intervene before it got ugly. He stood up and instantly jumped between the two of them before they reached each other.

"Alright guys, calm down," he said, holding his hands against both of their chests. Atem raised an arm and Yusei instantly grabbed it, eyeing the teen down. "Mahaad has a good point, you didn't need to be so rude," he began, but then turned to the other man, "But it's no good with you guys probing him, either. He probably has a lot of memories that he wants to forget." Mahaad stepped back from Yusei, still glaring at Atem, and sat back down next to Mana. Yusei then turned back to the other teen, who still had a clear scowl on his face. "Look, if you need help with-"

Atem instantly ripped his arm from Yusei's grasp, "No. I don't need your pity," he spat, before taking one more moment to glare over at Mahaad, and storming out of the hall.

Yusei stared after the teen with wide eyes. _Could it be...? _A memory from two years ago instantly reached the front of his mind, opening up like a book in front of him.

_Crowds of people were gathered in the courtyard, all desperately trying to get their hands on food rations. With so many refugees though, there was nowhere near enough food to feed them all. Yusei finally walked out holding a day's worth of food, one measly piece of bread in his hands. He could see the look of disapproval in the garrison soldiers eyes, they didn't want to share their food with the people they considered to be below them. Yusei tried to avoid their stares as he walked past, trying to find a place to sit away from the hoards of people. There were a row of pillars lining the edge of the courtyard, supporting the surrounding buildings, and the area within appeared empty. He ducked in behind one of the pillars, and was thankful for the slightly quieter atmosphere. Although upon first inspection the area had appeared empty, Yusei soon discovered that he was wrong. He noticed a boy sitting about ten meters away, his knees pulled up to his chest by his arms. Yusei instantly recognised the boy from when he had walked off of the ship, matching up the tattered rag wrapped around his leg and the wild hair. He wanted to comfort the boy somehow, but wasn't quite sure what to do. He slowly walked over, watching the boy stare at the ground in front of him. _

_Yusei stopped in front of the boy, nervously holding the bread in his hands as he tried to remember what that woman had called him the previous day. "Hi." _

_The other boy looked up at him, surprised for a moment, before he lowered his eyes once more, "What do you want?" he demanded. _

_Yusei was surprised by the boy's bitterness, but understood why he was appearing so hostile. "I, um..." he began, but the words became jumbled in his head. He then heard Atem's stomach grumble, desperate for some food, and Yusei's eyes lit up. "Here," he said, holding the bread out to the boy. "You sound hungry," he added with a nervous smile. _

_"Yusei!" he then heard his mother call out from behind him, "Come on, dear!" Yusei looked over his shoulder for a minute, before he turned back to the boy hopefully. Atem merely narrowed his eyes._

_He swiped his hand out at Yusei's offering of food, slapping it away, "I don't need your pity," he spat, before standing up and storming off into the crowd._

Yusei was still staring out the window as the teen briskly walked off towards his dormitory. He barely remembered what the little boy had looked like, but he did remember the name now. _Atem, _he thought. _Is this guy really that kid from back then...? _He thought that the hostility and rudeness seemed about right, but there were a lot of people who would have become bitter after the fall of wall Maria. He sighed, before deciding to sit back down. He could just be making things up in his head, but the memory seemed to almost match exactly what had just happened. He shook his head, looking back down at his food as the recruits next to him continued their conversation as they had before, as if the previous events had never even happened.

...

Atem was swinging through the trees with his maneuver gear, still not quite feeling like he had the hang of it yet. It frustrated him endlessly how all the other cadets seemed to glide along with ease, while he was still awkward and clumsy. It only made him even more aggravated and then he would end up performing worse. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed a titan figure appear ahead of him, rolling around on its tracks to expose the padding at the back of its neck. He swung around a tree with his swords raised, slicing away at the fake titan, before turning back to look at his work.

"Shit," he cursed angrily, turning back around as he continued forwards. _Why can't I slice deep enough?!_ His face was twisted into a scowl as he continued forwards, too distracted by his anger to notice that he was being followed.

Yusei had been swiftly making his way through the thick forest, skillfully dodging trees as he kept his eyes on alert for any of the titan figures. He had also been trying to see if he could find anyone who might lead him to more titans, as he wasn't very good at picking up the patterns that the training commander had set out. There were a few people who seemed to easily figure out where they would all be, but while Yusei had easily mastered the gear, he had no idea where to look. He had then caught sight of another figure just ahead of him, awkwardly moving through the trees as if he felt uncomfortable in his own skin. Yusei furrowed his eyebrows, before he had noticed the hair and he grinned, realising who it was he was following. _It's that hot headed kid, _he thought. He had heard a lot about the man with the spiky tri coloured hair, how his intelligence was astounding in scenarios such as this. Yusei fell in behind the other recruit, he hadn't come face to face with the man since the incident in the eating hall on the first day, but he had heard a lot about how smart he was. Having someone this intelligent in his squad was definitely a bonus.

Atem had his sights set on one of the newly discovered titan figures, as it rolled around on its tracks, right where he had suspected it would be. He grinned as he glided through the air, ready to strike. _This time..._he thought, _this time I'll get it! _ But before he reached the titan, a figure lurched out in front of him, slashing at the fake titan right before his eyes. He stared over in surprise at the person who must have been following him, amazed that he didn't realise them sneak up behind him. He growled under his breath and slashed at the titan's neck right next to where the stranger had, before landing on the ground with a hard thud. Another thing to add to the list of things to work on: landing without breaking his ankles.

"That was my kill," Atem hissed, placing his swords back in their place.

Yusei turned around as he admired his blades, "My, you are as smart as they say. What's your name, kid?"

Atem glared at the dark haired stranger, "Atem, but next time I suggest you stay out of my way."

Yusei's eyebrows disappeared up into his hair. Now this couldn't just be a coincidence. A kid with the same attitude and same name? He bit the inside of his lip, he still couldn't be sure though. He pushed his nagging thoughts to the side, turning back to the teen. "Well, I'd heard that you were smart, but I never knew you were this useful," he joked. "But too slow," he shrugged, walking over to Atem and ruffling his hair. Atem batted his hand away with a scowl and the teen just laughed as he continued to walk.

"Who are you anyway?" Atem demanded, turning around.

The other teen stopped for a moment, before saying over his shoulder, "Yusei Fudo. If you want to know how to handle your gear better though, you might want to consider following me next time," and without another word, he began to disappear into the trees.

Atem narrowed his eyes at Yusei's back as the teen casually walked through the greenery. _Just wait Yusei, _he thought as he glared into the trees, _I'll be the best titan slayer out of all of you._


	3. Chapter 3 - Scarred

**Chapter 3: Scarred**

The next day, and Atem was mid way through the same drill. He knew exactly where to go to find the titan figures; his only problem was getting to them before the rest of his squad. All of the recruits in the 104th had been split into squads, each having a leader that held authority just below commander Rishid. Atem's squad leader was a large blond haired man named Raphael. He was tough, brutal and unstoppable in almost every situation. Atem was surprised the maneuver gear didn't look minuscule on the huge man.

_I've got this. _Atem grinned as he knew he was nearing another figure, concentrating on moving swiftly through the trees as his eyes searched for the target. Before it was even in his sights however, a laugh startled him from behind.

"Heads up, Sennen!" The familiar voice announced from behind Atem. The man narrowed his eyes and turned around, amazed to see Yusei grinning as he swiftly ducked past him. Atem had been so sure that nobody was following him, yet this bastard just didn't know when to quit. He stared at Yusei with his jaw hanging open, before his movement through the trees was cut short when he slammed straight into the side of a tree trunk. Having not been paying attention to what was in front of him was now a grave mistake.

"Fuck," he grunted, grabbing hold of the tree as he retracted his wires. The collision had shaken his head up a bit, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. If anything, it made him more determined to catch up with Yusei and give that bastard what was coming to him. Atem had his back against the tree as he launched off of it, and he groaned as he heard a ripping sound corresponding with the feeling of tension at the back of his pants. It seemed that the garment had gotten caught on a loose branch on the back of his thigh, and made a decent rip. He could now feel the wind against his skin as he continued to glide through the trees to catch up to Yusei, his facial expression not unlike a scowl. Atem finally found the last titan and slashed the back of its neck next to where Yusei had, before landing on the ground none too gracefully. The other man was in the process of putting his blades away as Atem turned around to examine his pants. It was a decent sized rip alright, and he was already in a bad mood thanks to Yusei over taking him _again. _

"Sorry if I startled you," Yusei spoke up, chuckling as he walked over.

Atem narrowed his eyes, "Oh, give it a rest will you?" he spat, slamming his swords back into their place. "Thanks to you, I need a new pair of pants." He huffed as he stalked away, his eyes trained on the ground as he headed back to where their squad was supposed to meet after the drill. If Yusei piggy-backed off of him one more time, he was sure to have an anger overload. Of course it didn't help that Atem still wasn't all that great at using his gear. He knew perfectly well how it all worked, it was just putting it into practice that was difficult.

Yusei was left staring wide eyed at Atem as he trudged away. The rip in the back of his pant leg had left some of the material flowing behind him as he walked, and what it revealed had Yusei speechless.

_It is him. _

On the back of Atem's leg, right where his pants had ripped, was a distinct long scar.

...

That night as the cadets sat in the eating hall, Yusei kept stealing glances over at the table occupied by one. He knew that Atem had one hell of an attitude and didn't want anyone's help, but wouldn't it be tough not having any friends here? Yusei had Jack and Crow, two of his room mates and squad members, and he got along well enough with the rest of his squad to make training that little bit easier. Yusei guessed that whatever happened to Atem at the fall of wall Maria must have influenced his decision to be alone now. After all, it must be pretty tough to lose your family, and Yusei didn't know if Atem actually had any friends at all outside the military. Perhaps his trust had been betrayed somehow? Yusei wasn't sure.

He was certainly curious about the guy regardless, and Atem's hostility didn't scare him off at all. If anything, it made him more curious, and he made a mental note to try and crack through that obnoxious wall of hostility and bad temper to see what the kid was really like. Maybe if he mentioned their encounter back then, Atem would see him in a different light. Or then again, maybe not.

Soon, everyone had begun to filter out of the hall and Yusei had to pull himself out of his daze when Crow waved a hand in front of his face. He saw the wild hair disappearing out the door and he darted up from his seat, trying to squeeze his way through the large group of people and catch up to Atem, ignoring the odd looks he got from his room mates. Once he had made it out of the hall, Atem was already approaching their dorm, and his cabin room was in the opposite end of the building to Yusei's. The cadet ran up to the dorm as Atem walked up the steps near his quarters.

"Atem!" he called out, running over to the dorm, "Wait!"

The other teen simply cast a glance over his shoulder as he walked into the cabin, and his eyes narrowed as Yusei ran up the steps. Atem turned around and grabbed the edge of the door, glaring at Yusei who had now stopped in front of him. "Leave me alone," he spat, before the door was slammed in Yusei's face. _This is going to be harder than I thought, _Yusei sighed, turning to walk around the dorm to his own quarters. _If only I had a chance to talk to him where he can't slam a door in my face. _

Luckily, Yusei got his chance the very next day, as all the cadets were gathered on a large patch of dirt in the camp, supposedly practicing hand to hand combat. Atem looked around the group of cadets lazily, wondering why they had to endure this when they were supposed to be learning how to fight titans. _Sure, I'll just flip a titan when it tries to eat me, _he thought sarcastically. He then turned to the man he had been paired with, holding the wooden dagger loosely in his hand. _And this is proof that the world hates me. _

He let out an audible groan, "Not you again," he huffed, crossing his arms.

Yusei chuckled, "Why, you look so happy to see me," he commented. Ever since his first encounter with the man, it seemed that Yusei was just always there, and it was beginning to annoy Atem. On the contrary, Yusei was now more in favor of sticking around the other teen, with his new endeavor to poke and prod until Atem's wall caved in.

"I hope that was sarcasm," Atem grunted.

Yusei just grinned, "You'll warm up to me eventually," he said confidently. "Either that or one day you're going to realise you can't get through this training alone." Yusei knew he had a good point there, for it seemed that Atem's weakness was his pride. He never wanted any help from anyone, and he was already suffering for it. Yusei knew that if Atem wanted to get through military training intact, he had to team up with someone.

Atem narrowed his eyes at the man. He'd barely spoken to Yusei at all, and already the teen was treading in places nobody else dared. He had made it clear to everyone that he wanted to train alone, with nobody else's help. He wanted to rely on himself only, and therefore if he screwed up it was his own fault. All the other recruits had gotten the message and not tried to become buddy-buddy with him, including his room mates, but Yusei was already pushing his buttons. Atem could feel the irritation building up in his gut, but he had the better sense to know that making a scene would not be the best idea. He hated to do it, but he held in the urge to tell Yusei to piss off.

Atem rolled his eyes, "I don't need your help," he retorted, "I'm smart enough to do this by myself."

Yusei shrugged, not surprised by Atem's answer. "Whatever. So are you going to attack me or not?" he gestured towards the wooden dagger Atem held in his hand, and the other man lifted his arm with narrowed eyes, before charging straight at Yusei. Hopefully with enough force he'd be able to shut up this idiot.

Atem was on the ground in a matter of seconds. Yusei plucked the dagger out of Atem's hand with a triumphant grin, watching the other man glare up at him, surprise covering his face. "Smart you may be, but there's a lot you can work on." Atem growled, before lifting himself up from the ground once more, dusting the dirt off of him angrily.

"I already told you, I don't need your help," he grunted, before stalking away, not caring that they were supposed to keep going. He would tolerate practicing this junk with any of the idiots here, except for Yusei Fudo.

...

Later that evening, Yusei was staring up at the roof of his dormitory, with his arms under his head, as everyone slowly made their way back after dinner. Jack was also taking advantage of the peaceful surrounds before everyone arrived back, as he lay on his own bed casually, both of them owning the top bunks.

"Hey Jack," Yusei caught his attention as the dark haired man looked up at a small ball in his hand that he had found.

"Mm?" the blond replied, opening one eye and looking across the small room to Yusei. The other teen began throwing the ball in the air, before catching it again idly as he spoke.

"You know that Atem kid?" he asked. "The one in our squad?"

Jack closed his eye again, settling back against the pillow, "What, you mean the one who always has a stick up his ass?"

Yusei chuckled, "Yeah, that's the one. Where did he say he was from again?"

Jack sighed and rubbed his eyes for a moment, thinking. "I dunno, somewhere in the south of wall Maria I think."

"Hmm," Yusei hummed to himself as he continued to throw the ball into the air, catching it again with the same hand. He became close to hitting the ceiling a few times. "That would be a village that the titans reached before they could be evacuated, wouldn't it?"

Jack shrugged, "I'd assume so." He then rolled over to face the wall. "I don't even know why you're so hellbent on knowing so much about this kid. He's a dick."

Yusei caught the ball once more, but didn't throw it up again. Instead, he held it in his hand securely. "Because," he replied, "I'm pretty sure I know _why _he's such a dick."

"And?" Jack asked, rolling back over to look at him. "People always have their reasons for being assholes, but it still doesn't make it right."

Yusei nodded, "Yeah, I know. But I plan to fix that."

Jack shook his head, "I really don't get you sometimes Yusei. Why can't you leave it alone?"

"Because," Yusei said, turning to look at the ceiling once more. "He's obviously miserable, and because of it, he's making everyone else miserable. If i can crack his shell, we all could end up a lot better off."

Jack seemed to think about Yusei's words for a moment, before shrugging and rolling back over again. "Whatever," he sighed, "Just don't push him so much that you end up with a black eye."

The man in question was lying on his own bed at this point, staring up at the mattress above him. His room mates weren't the most wonderful people, and they had had a fair share of disagreements, but mostly they stayed out of his way. Two of them in particular had places on his very much disliked list, right next to Yusei and Mahaad.

These individuals were Allister and Valon. It had become clear to Atem on the first day here that these two wanted nothing more than to become the best titan slayers in the 104th, only to go and hide within the inner walls as Soldiers of the King. There wasn't any miscommunication about it, either. The two of them had stated on the first night that they wanted to be the best so that they could get as far away from the titans as possible. Atem had rolled his eyes at them and after a short argument, they established that neither party were fond of each other. Not that Atem wasn't used to it already, almost everyone here seemed to dislike him. The only exception to that was Yusei, and Atem was finding it hard to figure out what his problem was.

The teen sighed as he looked up at the wooden slats above him, sometimes when he was left with nothing but his mind to occupy him, it wasn't very pleasant for him. Every morning he woke up with reminders of that terrible day plastered into his dreams; he hadn't had a proper night's sleep in two years. Recently he had been blaming his training problems on lack of sleep, but he knew that it was just an excuse.

Atem's mind was well known for running wild and torturing him. At the moment all he could think about were the last words he ever said to his sister, and he wanted to smash his head against a wall for it.

_"Will you shut up Anzu? You're so annoying!" _

Atem could still remember the look on the small girl's face as he stalked out the house, on his way to meet Duke. Atem closed his eyes and pushed the memory of his friend away, that was the last thing he needed now. Atem reached down under his bed where his suitcase was, and his hand found a small, soft object. He pulled it out from under the bed with an absent mind, looking at the object with distant eyes. It was a small doll, with a missing eye and a lot of the stitching half unravelled. That didn't matter to him though, and it sparked a painful memory.

Fiona had given him the doll the day that he was put into her care. He was to live with her family from then on, and she had told him that before she never had the chance to give it to him, for he had been too angry and rash to listen to anything she said. It once belonged to Anzu, and she had explained that she found it when they were trying to evacuate. He still remembered casting his eyes to the floor and waving off Fiona's concerns as he turned and walked away from her, the doll clasped tight in his hand.

Atem was suddenly interrupted from his thoughts when the door to his cabin burst open at the return of his room mates. Allister was the first to enter, and he spied the item in Atem's hand before he had the chance to shove it back under the bed.

"Nice doll, Sennen, is it your sister's?" he teased, plucking the item out of the teen's hand. Valon had followed in behind him as the other three members of their room filtered in silently.

Atem stood up, a hard glare set on his face. "Don't you say a fucking thing about my sister," he spat, reaching for the doll. Allister stepped back, holding the item over his head. What he loved about this was his obvious height advantage over the other teen.

"Hey, whoa, I didn't know you had a sister," he grinned, and Atem only continued to glare at him as he held the doll out of his reach. "Is she hot?"

"None of your fucking business," Atem retorted, "Now give it back before I send my fist into your gut."

"And you're in the position to be making threats?" Valon inquired with a smirk as he walked behind Atem. The other three members of their cabin knew when to stay quiet, and now was one of those times. _Gutless cowards, _Atem thought.

"Hey, I'm just asking, cause you know, when we get out of here I might want to take your sister with me to wall Sina," Allister smirked. "I'm sure she'd love having someone like me to f-"

Allister hadn't been able to finish his sentence, for Atem's anger had boiled over and his clenched fist went flying into the other man's jaw.

And that's when it got ugly.

* * *

HEY LOOK I UPDATED YAY.

This would have been out sooner had I _not_ spilt iced tea all over my laptop... . But hey, I still have all my files and Atem is still a dick, yay! But now he's a dick with feelings. (The mental image I just got was...interesting)

Anyway! I hope you're all enjoying this story, because I love this idea to bits. I'm gonna start the next chapter now xD

Please let me know what you think! And creative criticism is always welcome! :)

PharaohsThrone


	4. Chapter 4 - Punishment

**Chapter 4: Punishment**

Liquid once clear, ran red down the drain, as Atem hung his head over the sink, splashing water onto his face. He knew that challenging those two assholes was a bad idea, but he wasn't the kind of person to back down, and the pain coursing through his head now was a good distraction from his haunting nightmares. With a heavy sigh, he finally lifted his head back up, looking into the worn mirror in front of him, the edges rusted away. His nose was bleeding, his left eye was coloured black, and there was a noticeable bruise on his right cheek. He lifted a hand to gently run across the blue-black mark on his cheek, and flinched when he realised there were scratches there, too. Must have been from where Allister had smashed his head against the wooden bed frame.

"Imagine if mother saw me now," he muttered bitterly, glaring at his own reflection. He then stood back up, his hands clenched into fists, "She'd be so _proud _of me!" As he sarcastically growled at himself, he swung his leg back and kicked the small bin on the floor, spilling its contents onto the tiles.

Yusei had been walking past the small amenities building when he heard a commotion from inside the men's restroom, and he curiously walked up the steps, wondering what the sudden noise was. He instantly spied Atem standing there, his fists clenched at his sides and his face twisted into a scowl that would scare away any living animal as he stared at the mess on the floor. Yusei raised his eyebrows when he saw the bruises on Atem's face, and the other man seemed just as surprised to see him standing in the doorway.

"Fan-_fucking_-tastic," Atem snarled, "Guess who shows up? The one person who _never leaves me alone." _He couldn't believe the timing this guy had, especially when all he wanted was to be alone, and now that had been ruined twice today already.

Yusei waved off Atem's comment, "What the hell happened to you?" he asked, ignoring the other man's glare as he stepped forward, eyeing off the overturned bin on the floor.

Atem instantly turned back to glare at the mirror, resting his hands on the side of the sink. "None of your business," he grunted.

Yusei stepped forwards, trying to avoid the rubbish that was now on he floor, "Well if it is or not, it can't be swept under the rug, who was it?"

Atem balled his hands into fists and turned back to Yusei, his nose scrunched in annoyance. "Why do you even give a damn?!" He boomed, "I've treated everyone here like shit and they've all backed off, so why haven't you?"

Yusei kept his gaze even on the other man, watching the way Atem's wide eyes challenged him, daring him to turn and walk away. Still standing just off of the doorway, Yusei's mind was ticking over, as a memory came to the front of his mind. A boy with wild hair stepping off of a boat, his leg bleeding and a distraught expression on his face. The dark haired man let out a breath of air that he didn't realise he'd been holding.

"Because," he began, "I was there that day. When wall Maria fell."

Before Yusei had a chance to further explain, Atem was butting in with an impatient expel of breath. "Who wasn't," he spat, trying to fend off invading memories of that day as he crossed his arms irritably.

"I _mean,_" Yusei continued, taking another step forwards, "That I was there when you stepped off of the boat. I know what happened to your family." Yusei then paused for a moment and forced himself to not speak so harshly. "I saw the look on your face."

Atem's jaw was locked tightly as the memory swept forwards. People packed together like sardines on the boat, faces as pale as ghosts and a silence that deafened his ears. Following the crowd numbly as he stared at the ground, watching the footsteps in front of him as if robotically. Then, a voice. Fiona. His old neighbor and then caretaker. Atem began to bite his tongue, wishing for some sort of distraction to take away the memories. If he were alone he would have punched the mirror so that it shattered, but he would rather take another beating than to show weakness in front of Yusei, or anyone for that matter. Atem was staring harshly at Yusei as the man continued.

"Whatever the reason for you joining the military, it has to be a damn good one," he said. "And like I said to you before, you can't graduate if you refuse to work with anyone else."

Atem was still glaring over at the other man, as he started to taste blood. He had been biting down on his tongue a little too hard. Anger bubbled in his gut at the thought of Yusei seeing him as he was that day, and he found himself stalking towards the other man, wanting nothing but to be out of there and as far away from anyone as he could get.

"And like _I _said to _you _before, I _don't _want your help," Atem snarled as he walked past Yusei, knocking his shoulder as he did so, before stalking down the steps and back towards the dormitories. Yusei turned to follow him, but stopped at the top of the stairs, watching the other teen grow smaller as he walked away.

A growl of annoyance passed Yusei's lips in the form of a name as he shook his head.

"Atem."

...

The next morning, Yusei was walking through the camp shortly after breakfast, on his way to their first squad activity for the day. He had been confused when Atem had not been present for the meal, but now he stopped and stared over at the patch of dirt in front of all the dormitories. Atem was on the ground, dressed in his cadet uniform, doing push ups. Standing in front of the teen, shouting as he counted, was none other than commander Rishid himself.

"Sixty six, sixty seven..." Rishid roared down at Atem as the teen began to struggle, obviously exhausted and starving. Yusei was dumbfounded. What had he done to get himself this kind of punishment?

Then, a voice by his shoulder, "Didn't you hear?" Crow stepped up beside Yusei, crossing his arms as he looked at the scene before them. "Atem didn't return to his dorm last night." That would certainly do it. Yusei had heard that there was severe consequences for wandering around the camp after lights out, so if Atem had been out there all night...

Yusei gave Crow a sidewards glance, "You're kidding." Crow simply shook his head, before staring to make his way down the hill towards where their squad was supposed to meet. Yusei followed, watching as they grew closer to Atem and Rishid, the Commander's voice growing louder.

"Seventy three," he continued, before looking up and noticing the two cadets staring at them as they walked past. "Move along boys, your buddy won't be joining you for some time," he explained, a wicked grin on his face that spoke of all the punishment he couldn't wait to deliver.

Yusei barely heard Crow mutter, "He's not our buddy," as Atem had collapsed onto the dirt, unable to continue. Dust swirled around the teen as Rishid nudged Atem harshly with his foot.

"On your feet Sennen! We're not done yet." Yusei couldn't help but stare as Atem struggled to pull himself to his feet, having obviously been doing a lot more than push ups that morning. He wasn't able to stare for much longer however, because Raphael then approached the two boys, threatening to give them the same treatment if they didn't get their butts down to their squad where they should be.

It wasn't until after lunch that Atem joined the squad once more, lazily sliding his feet along the ground as he walked, before plopping on the ground in front of a tree. The rest of the squad spared him a simple glance before they went back to chatting among themselves, most likely not noticing the bruises that littered his face. All except for Yusei that is. He looked over from where he was standing with Jack and Crow, before turning and walking over to the other teen. Atem looked slightly better than he had the previous day, but the slump of his shoulders suggested he felt worse. The sight of Atem's bruises were slightly obscured as his bangs hung over his face purposely. Yusei had barely become within two meters of Atem before the teen spoke up, not bothering to lift his head.

"Fuck. Off."

Yusei was only slightly surprised by his hostility, but it wasn't like he hadn't expected something along those lines. He simply chuckled, "Have a rough morning?"

"You don't even know," Atem muttered, eyeing the dirt on the knees of his white pants and wondering why they wore such a colour in these conditions. To Atem's relief, their squad leader arrived at that moment, saving him from conversing with Yusei further, as he knew that his simple retorts would not drive the man away as it did everyone else.

Raphael explained to the group that they would be participating in a new activity today. While in the past they had done solo work, they were now to work in small teams, as they would need to in the military quite often. Atem bit back a groan, he should have known this was coming. Their squad was to be split into three groups who would start at different points around the practice field. The aim was to be the group to take down as many titan figures as possible, without completely splitting up. _Dang, _Atem thought, _there goes my idea. _With each titan they killed, they were to grab the coloured marker sitting on its head to prove they had found it, and the team with the most markers by the end would be winners.

Raphael then went about splitting their squad into three, giving each team six members, before he designated them each a starting point. Atem's group was positioned at the southern entrance to the "titan forest" as the cadets called it, and as he reached the entrance, he realised he should probably have been listening to see who he was stuck with. He turned around and waited for the group to show up, and a scowl instantly settled on his face as Yusei became visible. _God dammit. _

The other members of his group seemed to be mostly Yusei's friends, too, as far as he knew. For this activity Atem was stuck with Yusei, Jack, Crow, Mai, and Marik. He had no idea how well these guys would be able to work together but he sure as hell wasn't going to play buddy-buddy with them just to win the activity. The group lined up outside the entrance, their swords drawn, as they waited for their signal to begin. Soon enough, the horn sounded, and the group sprung up into the trees, instantly searching for their first target.

"Where do you think our first titan will be?" Crow called out to the group.

Atem wasn't too far behind him as he answered simply, "About 40 degrees to your left."

Crow turned and gave him an incredulous look, before Mai called out from the front, "There it is!" Atem didn't look surprised at all as he followed them over, but the same couldn't be said for Crow. His jaw was at the floor.

"How the hell did you know that?!" he asked as Mai slashed at the titan figure, while Marik grabbed the marker for her.

Atem didn't even spare him a glance as he moved through the trees, much less swiftly than the rest of the group. "It's not that hard to figure out."

While the rest of the group were bouncing off the trees alight with energy, Atem felt like a ton of bricks. He only hoped that his comments would hide the fact that he wanted nothing more than to collapse where he was. Both Jack and Marik had spotted more titan figures, as the group moved to take them out respectively. Once they were dispatched, Jack sent Atem an annoyed glance.

"Atem, bloody pick up your act before we lose this challenge!" he grunted, darting past the teen with unprecedented speed. He must have been pointing out the fact that Atem was the only one who hadn't assisted in killing any titans yet, though he was the one good at finding them.

Atem narrowed his eyes as he called out to Jack in response, "I haven't eaten all fucking day, how do you expect my performance to be?"

Yusei cast a concerned glance in Atem's direction as Mai jumped in, "Oh, cool it you two, we have a job to do."

Yusei could only shake his head at them all as they followed out the activity, managing to find and kill 8 titans before they heard the finishing horn ring out through the trees. Everyone who had killed a titan had the coloured markers hanging from their pockets, each having a different number on it. When the three teams reformed again, everyone was to show their markers. Yusei, Jack and Mai all pulled out two markers, while Marik and Crow pulled out one each. Atem's pockets were empty. That gave their team eight kills, out of the possible twenty. The other two groups had six kills each, meaning that Yusei's group had won.

"Even with Mr grumpy ass," Jack muttered, causing Yusei to elbow him in the ribs. The blond simply huffed and crossed his arms, not even caring that they had won the activity.

"Well done," Raphael said, eyeing the group with his arms folded. "For being the top group in this activity, you'll be excused from this afternoon's run." There was a chorus of groans come from the other two groups, as they had obviously not thought it to be that big of a deal to win. Atem was relieved, all he had to do was not collapse in the next two hours and he'd be in the clear. His stomach then chose that moment to let out a growl, and Mai-who was standing right next to him-gave him an odd look.

Atem gave her a blank look, "It says hi."

That made Mai take a few steps away from him, muttering incoherent comments about how weird he was. Atem was too exhausted to care. He was only slightly aware of Yusei chuckling behind him, and this time it was Jack's turn to send an elbow into the teen's side.

* * *

Sorry that chapter took a while, I would write a bit, then get stuck, then write a bit, then Christmas was in there somewhere, and yeah excuses I know [GOMEN]

Anyway! I hope you liked the chapter, I'm going to keep going and start writing the next one now! These synchro feels are killing me -.-

Please let me know what you think! :)

PharaohsThrone


	5. Chapter 5 - Exhaustion

**Chapter 5: Exhaustion**

Having finally completed his training for the day, Atem collapsed down onto his bed, grateful that he was excused from the three kilometer run that the rest of his squad was currently doing. The other squads were also still out, so there was only the six members of his group back at camp. He relished the silence of his cabin, and tried to focus on something other than the pain in his stomach. Apart from his hunger and obvious exhaustion, the afternoon's training had been quite terrible in itself. He obviously hadn't trained very well, and every commanding officer he came across (including Raphael) had given him a mouthful for it. He knew he wasn't up to speed with any of his squad mates, even when he was at his best, but the small amount of pride he had left was keeping him from accepting any help. That's what he had been like ever since that day. He didn't want anyone's pity or charity, and he didn't want to have to rely on someone else. He let out a sigh when he realised how terrible he had been to Fiona since she had taken him in. He'd acted grudgingly against her just because she wanted to look after him after the passing of his parents. She didn't have any children, either, and he had probably ruined her only chance by being terrible to her.

He always wanted to be able to do things himself, and when he joined the military he thought he would finally get his chance, but it seemed he was still unable to hold himself up. It took a lot of thought, but after a few minutes, he pulled out a piece of paper and some ink, and decided to write her a letter. As soon as he was about to start though, his mind froze. He had no idea what to say, should he apologise for not writing sooner? For being a terrible adopted son? He sighed as he let his eyes wonder over the empty cabin, trying to think of how to put his thoughts into words.

Then, something strange caught his eye. Atem sat up to get a closer look at the strange object, and his stomach instantly dropped.

_Oh no. _

He pulled himself off of the bed as fast as he could with his aching muscles, and climbed up the ladder of Allister's bed, where hanging from the wall by a knife, was Anzu's doll. Pain coursed through his chest as he pulled the knife from the wall, freeing the doll that looked in a worse state than it had been in before. He hesitantly climbed back down the ladder, holding the torn doll in his hands, as the stuffing hung out of its stomach.

Tears stung his eyes as he stared down at the only thing left of his sister, now destroyed. "I'm sorry Anzu...I can't even look after your stupid doll, let alone you..."

With a distraught sigh, Atem sank to the floor, letting his back lean against his bed frame, as he stared at the doll in his hands. Would he ever become the brave strong soldier he wanted to be? Like Captain Seto, the man who saved his life? Was this all for nothing? Atem's hand was holding the dilapidated doll tightly as he thought about his chances. It was likely that he could be kicked out the very next day, for his terrible performance today. What would his mother have thought of him if he were to just be carted away as a drop out, useless as a soldier. Heck, his father would have smacked the back of his head and told him to pick up his game and be a man. He almost felt the corner of his lips twitch up in a nostalgic smile. His father was harsh, but he was also a great man, a hero to Atem when he was younger. His face then dropped once more when his thoughts continued. If he had known their fate that day, would he have acted differently towards them all? He shook his head, there was no need to think about the answer, of course he would have. He'd have played with Anzu like she was always asking, accept his mother kiss without a groan and a grimace...

Without warning, there were sudden footsteps approaching his door, and a shadow filled the cabin. Atem didn't need to look up to see who it was. Neither did he bother trying to hide the doll, and he dropped it onto the floor.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Yusei stood at the door, dumbfounded. There was no forced hostility in Atem's voice, no 'piss off', just a deadpan, empty sentence. There was still so much about the teen he didn't know, and it confused him to no end.

He pulled an item out from under his shirt, "Catch."

Atem looked up just in time to see the piece of bread flying towards him, and he just managed to catch it in his hands, his eyebrows raised in confusion. "Where did you get this?"

Yusei shrugged, leaning against the doorway, "Crow took it from the kitchen. Turns out you're not as unfavored as you think."

Atem made a 'tch' sound, as he stared at the piece of bread in his hand. Yusei simply stood there, eyeing the bruises on the teen's face, and his eyes landed on the doll that Atem had been holding. It was lying on the floor in front of him, torn and ruined.

He tilted his head to the side, "Is that...?" He was sure that normally Atem would fight off any questions that Yusei had, but something told him that the teen's exhaustion and lack of hostility meant that he had a chance this time.

Atem looked past his knees to where the doll sat on the floor. "It was my sister's," he murmured, before turning his gaze away, "But now it's ruined."

Yusei stared at the teen for a moment, looking at the doll on the floor, then the bruises on his face, and something began ticking over inside his head. He turned his gaze up to the top bunk on the right, where a knife was sticking out from the wall. His eyes landed on Atem once more, who was still staring down at the doll at his feet, as it clicked. "It was Allister, wasn't it," he said, causing Atem to look in the opposite direction, avoiding Yusei's gaze. "He gave you those bruises, too, I bet." _That's why he didn't return to his dorm last night, _Yusei thought, _because it was his room mate who beat him up._

Atem was still holding the bread in one hand, while the other made a fist. "Like I said, it doesn't matter."

Yusei was watching Atem carefully, but the teen wasn't going to look at him. He simply let out a small sigh, "Forget it, I'll keep my mouth shut," and without another word, he turned and left, walking along the wooden verandah back around to his own cabin. As he walked away, Yusei couldn't help but think of the last time he had offered Atem food, and he let a small smile creep onto his face. This time at least, he had kept it.

_Crowds of people were gathered in the courtyard, all desperately trying to get their hands on food rations. With so many refugees though, there was nowhere near enough food to feed them all. Yusei finally walked out holding a day's worth of food, one measly piece of bread in his hands. He could see the look of disapproval in the Garrison soldiers eyes, they didn't want to share their food with the people they considered to be below them. Yusei tried to avoid their stares as he walked past, trying to find a place to sit away from the hoards of people. There were a row of pillars lining the edge of the courtyard, supporting the surrounding buildings, and the area within appeared empty. He ducked in behind one of the pillars, and was thankful for the slightly quieter atmosphere. Although upon first inspection the area had appeared empty, Yusei soon discovered that he was wrong. He noticed a boy sitting about ten meters away, his knees pulled up to his chest by his arms. Yusei instantly recognised the boy from when he had walked off of the ship, matching up the tattered rag wrapped around his leg and the wild hair. He wanted to comfort the boy somehow, but wasn't quite sure what to do. He slowly walked over, watching the boy stare at the ground in front of him. _

_Yusei stopped in front of the boy, nervously holding the bread in his hands as he tried to remember what that woman had called him the previous day. "Hi." _

_The other boy looked up at him, surprised for a moment, before he lowered his eyes once more, "What do you want?" he demanded. _

_Yusei was surprised by the boy's bitterness, but understood why he was appearing so hostile. "I, um..." he began, but the words became jumbled in his head. He then heard Atem's stomach grumble, desperate for some food, and Yusei's eyes lit up. "Here," he said, holding the bread out to the boy. "You sound hungry," he added with a nervous smile. _

_"Yusei!" he then heard his mother call out from behind him, "Come on, dear!" Yusei looked over his shoulder for a minute, before he turned back to the boy hopefully. Atem merely narrowed his eyes._

_He swiped his hand out at Yusei's offering of food, slapping it away, "I don't need your pity," he spat, before standing up and storming off into the crowd._

As Atem heard Yusei's footsteps grow quieter, he lifted the bread in his hands as he looked at it, the exact same thought entering his mind. Though Atem did not know that the boy who offered him bread years ago was the same one who he had just spoken to, it did make him think. When Atem was certain that Yusei was far enough away, he took a bite. Despite the fact that he had gotten it from someone else, it tasted damn good.

...

Later that evening, Yusei found himself sitting in the dining hall with Jack and Crow, as they began to eat their meals. The hall was alight with chatter as everyone grabbed their food and sat down, but as Yusei's eyes scanned the room, he couldn't find the mess of spiky hair.

Right on cue, the door to the hall opened, squeaking on its hinges as the man in question walked in, looking much more alive than he had earlier. Late, he may have been, but Yusei was still glad to see the teen show up. Atem made his way through the mass of people as he took his plate of food as always, with memorised robotic movements. When he turned to find an empty table, he noticed Yusei was looking at him from a few tables away. When the other teen caught his gaze, he nodded his head to the seat beside him. Atem still felt like digging a hole somewhere and sleeping for the rest of eternity, so it took all he had to crack a fake smirk. He shook his head at Yusei, before setting off for one of the empty tables at the far end of the room. He may not have snapped at the teen for the first time that afternoon, but that was simply because he had been beyond exhausted, and he now knew that no matter what he did, Yusei wasn't going to go away.

And that thought in itself was enough to make Atem feel exhausted once more.

Crow turned a glare over to his dark haired friend once Atem had turned away, "Hey, just because I steal a piece of break for this kid, doesn't mean I want him to be our friend," he began, crossing his arms defiantly. Jack simply laughed at the shorter teen.

Yusei raised his arms in defense, "Sorry, I just thought he would be sick of sitting alone by now."

Jack then moved to speak amidst a mouth full of bread, "You are aware that he's still a dick, right?"

This caused Yusei to turn his head in Atem's direction once more. "I don't know," he murmured. "I have a feeling that his walls are beginning to crack."

Crow uncrossed his arms to he could point a thumb over his shoulder to said teenager, "Yeah because he's training like crap. He's gonna get kicked out soon if he keeps it up, and he knows it."

Yusei hummed to himself, switching his gaze between Atem and his friends, "Well he better swallow his pride, or he'll have none left."

* * *

Atem's walls are breaking! And Yusei knows it xD

sorry if there are a few mistakes, i'm in a rush to get this up without the boyfriend seeing xD I'll edit later!

Hope you liked the chapter, let me know what you think!

PharaohsThrone :)


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